


Like an Old Bing Crosby Song

by bluebrightblue



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Christmas, M/M, holiday fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-04
Updated: 2015-11-04
Packaged: 2018-04-26 14:06:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,667
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5007613
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluebrightblue/pseuds/bluebrightblue
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The problem with being a planner is that when things don’t go the way they are supposed to, you take it harder than you should.</p><p>Harry is a planner. And things are not going the way he had planned for them to. And there’s nothing he can do about it.</p><p>The thing is that there is no way that he could’ve planned for a snowstorm to suddenly drop eight inches of snow the day before he was supposed to fly out. Let alone another three inches the morning of his flight and that means  all flights out of New York have been canceled. Not to mention, he can’t even find a taxi company willing to pick up right now.</p><p> </p><p>Or the one where Harry is stranded and Zayn doesn't celebrate Christmas.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Like an Old Bing Crosby Song

**Author's Note:**

  * For [zarry3 (Jeri_1116)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jeri_1116/gifts).



Harry glares at Zayn from across the table, his hands pressing against the sticky wooden table, palms down. Next to Zayn, Niall shreds a paper napkin and refuses to look up. Next to Harry, Louis has a pint raised to hips lips, his eyes are darting back and forth between the two men, one eyebrow raised.

“Come on, lads.” It’s Liam who speaks up finally, ever the peacekeeper. “We can work something out.”

“Tell that to Harry.” Zayn raises his chin in defiance. His arms are crossed over his chest, a half empty pint glass sits in front of him, the beer almost too warm to drink at this point.

“I’m totally willing to compromise.” Harry shifts slightly, the wood chair hard and uncomfortable beneath him, but keeps his gaze on Zayn. He refuses to break eye contact. “But you don’t even have a Christmas tree up.”

“It’s not a Christmas party!” Zayn growls, leaning forward slightly “It’s Lou’s birthday party. Completely separate from Christmas.”

“I’m not saying it’s a Christmas party!” Harry throws his hands up “But it is Christmas! It’d be festive to have a few decorations.”

“I don’t celebrate Christmas. I’m not going to decorate my flat just to make you happy for a night. I have more room, I don’t have a roommate that will be bothered by a party, we’re having the party at mine.” He leans back in his chair and levels Harry with a challenging look.

“Nick doesn’t care if we have a party and I have plenty of room,” Harry argues back, his voice raising slightly to be heard over the Christmas music that has just come on over the speaker system, Bing Crosby lamenting about being home for Christmas. “We have parties there all the time, we’re having it at mine. Plus, mine is already decorated for Christmas.”

“Still don’t celebrate Christmas, mate. And it’s still not a Christmas party, it’s Louis’ birthday party.”

“Still not saying it’s a Christmas party, mate.” Harry retorts and this time it’s him leaning forward, eyes blazing.

“As much fun as it is to watch you two go at it again,” Louis finally interjects, setting his pint down in front of him. He pulls the sleeves of his hoodie down so that they are covering his hands, “Do we really have do this again? It’s my fucking birthday and I don’t appreciate either of you tainting it with your pettiness.”

Harry looks down at his own pint, reaches over to wrap his hands around the warm glass. “Sorry Lou,” he mumbles, chagrined. Across from him, Zayn mumbles out his own apology and adjusts the collar of his own hoodie.

“Accepted” Louis nods. “Now Harry, you know I love your parties, but Nick is twat and I refuse to spend my birthday party with him around, so I’m sorry, but we’re going to Zayn’s.”

“But”, Harry’s head snaps up and he looks over at Louis, his green eyes wide, “Fine,” he says instead, meeting his best friend’s gaze. “Whatever’ll make you happiest.” He’s still pouting, he can’t help it. His parties are the best. And Nick may be a bit pretentious, but he’s still a pretty damn good DJ.

Across from him, Zayn is smirking as he reaches for his beer. “It’s settled then,” he says before he takes a sip, grimacing at the temperature. “I’ll get next round.” He sets the glass back down and stands up before looking over at Niall. “Help me?” he asks as he rests a hand on Niall’s shoulder.

“Sure, mate.” Niall scoops the shredded up napkin into a pile and pushes it towards the center of the table before standing up and wiping his hands on his jeans. The other three boys stay quiet as they watch Niall and Zayn walk towards the bar.

“Can’t you at least try and get on with Zayn?” Louis asks once they are out of earshot.

“I do try.” Harry is glaring at his beer, a slight frown on his face. “He’s such a twat.”

“He’s not though.” Louis shakes his head and pushes his own half full pint away. He glances over at Liam before he continues ,“He’s a good lad, that Zayn Malik.” Harry huffs out a disbelieving laugh next to him. “You just need to give him a chance.”

“I did!” Harry looks up at Louis “He shut me out from day one! He’s never given me a chance. This is a conversation you need to have with him, not me.”

“Believe me, we have.” Liam speaks up from the other side of Louis, leaning his arms on the table so he can look at Harry, “You’re both stubborn arses who’d probably get on well if you’d both stop being dicks about it.”

“You’ve talked to him and he still hasn’t made an effort? It’s easy to see where the problem lies here.” Harry picks up a straw wrapper and rubs it between his forefinger and his thumb, the pout from earlier back in full force. “I’ve tried at least.”

“Oh, come off of it Haz, you’ve hardly tried.” Louis shifts so that he can rest his arm along the back of Harry’s chair, his hand just ghosting Harry’s shoulder.

“Have too!” Harry looks up at him with a frown, “I try with everyone! Zayn was not an exception. He literally walked away in the middle of one of my sentences.” He’s not lying, Harry is a people pleaser. He tried, okay?

“We’ve all walked away in the middle of one of your sentences, love. You are a horrible story teller. You know this.” Louis reaches out to squeeze Harry’s shoulder.

“But you guys have known me for years,” Harry argues, his green eyes wide. “It’s different. He walked off the first time I met him! He’s never wanted to get to know me.” Overhead the song changes to ‘Baby It’s Cold Outside’ and Harry glances around the room, takes in the crowded tables, the sad Christmas tree decorated with coasters and the beer caps, a Budweiser bottle acting as the tree topper, and he wonders, not for the first time, how this dive bar has become their unofficial hangout.

“He was new, he’s not the most social person.” Louis pauses and shakes his head before bringing his hand up to his mouth a chewing at his thumbnail, “Just. You guys at least need to get along for my birthday, okay? That’s all I’m asking.”

“You know I wouldn’t do anything to ruin your birthday Lou.” Harry reaches up and grips Louis’ hand in his own, looking at Louis earnestly, “I will do anything to make sure you have the best of days”

“That’s what I like to hear.” Louis smirks, his eyes looking past Harry to where Zayn and Niall are making their way back to the table, carrying the five pints between them. Niall sets one down in front of Harry and hands one to Louis before setting his own down in front of his chair. Zayn hands Liam his before sitting down and taking a sip from the glass.

“So, Lou’s party,” Niall starts off after taking a sip of his pint, “What’s the plan?”

“I’m going to take care of it,” Zayn says, one eyebrow raised like he is daring anyone to disagree. Which of course, Harry does.

“I’m going to help. We can split duties or whatever. But I’m helping.” His hands are wrapped tightly around the glass in front of him.

“I’ve got it. Don’t worry about it.” Zayn looks at him, brown eyes meeting Harry’s green, eyebrow still raised.

“I’m going to help,” Harry repeats, raising his voice slightly. Beside Zayn, Niall’s head hits the table with a thunk while Louis mutters a ‘Jesus Christ’ beside Harry and takes a huge drink from his pint.

“Guys come on,” Liam interrupts again as he picks up a straw wrapper and rolls it between his index finger and thumb, also avoiding their eyes.

“Look, we can have it at your place. Fine. But I’m going to help plan it. He’s my best friend.”

“And he’s one of my best mates. Just because you’ve known him longer doesn’t mean you get to lay claim on him.” Zayn’s voice remains low but he is talking louder, glaring harder at Harry as the conversation continues.

“I’m not laying claim on him--” Harry starts, but gets cut off by the loud scraping of the chair next to him sliding out as Louis stands up quickly. He watches as Louis downs the rest of his pint, throat working quickly to swallow the rest of the beer.

“You know what guys?” Louis says finally, after setting the glass on the table, “Just forget it. I don’t want a fucking party. Don’t even worry about it. We’ll just grab a bite after finals or something.” He grabs his jacket off of the back of his chair and quickly puts it on, the other four watching in stunned silence before Harry finally jumps into action, standing up as well, the table shifting as he bumps into it. Zayn has to reach out to steady his beer and Harry curses as some of the liquid sloshes over the rim of his own drink and spills on to the table. He throws a napkin down before reaching out to stop Louis.

“No, Louis no.” He latches on to Louis elbow, the worn denim of his jacket soft under his grip, “No. Zayn can do it all. I won’t interfere. He can do it all. We’ll have your party, okay?” He squeezes Louis’ arm as an apology and reaches blindly back, dropping the back of his chair for his pea coat. “It’ll be fun, yeah?” He glances at Zayn, who nods and sits back in his chair, eyes on Louis.

“And you’ll be okay with that?” Louis looks back at Harry, one eyebrow raised in question.

“Yeah. Fine. Whatever.” Harry slips his coat on, not meeting anyone’s eyes he finds a spot on the floor and stares at it, one shoulder lifting in a half shrug, “Whatever you want.”

“Come on.” Louis holds a hand out to him, but Harry doesn’t take it, instead glances back at the table, still not looking at anyone in particular he calls out a goodbye and heads for the door. Behind him, Louis calls out his own goodnight to the other boys before following him out.

“Haz,” he says after they’ve walked together in silence for a few minutes, the street empty and silent around them. “Don’t be mad.”

“I’m not mad.” Harry glances back at him, watches as Louis pauses to light up a cigarette and take a drag before he starts following Harry again, “It’s your birthday, so whatever’ll make you happy will make me happy.”

“You two not going at it will make me happy.” Louis pulls his jacket tighter around himself, and takes another drag of the cigarette before he continues, “I just don’t understand how everything turns into an argument with you two.”

“I was trying!” Harry huffs and stops quickly. Louis almost walks into him, and then has to step back to avoid being hit as Harry turns around, arms flailing. “I was trying Louis! I didn't want to take over, I just want to help. You’ve been my best mate for years.”

“I know, love.” Louis throws the cigarette down and stubs it out with his toe before closing the space between him and Harry, bringing his hands up to grip Harry’s shoulders .“I know you want to help and you’ve got to know how much I appreciate that. It’s Zayn, I don’t know why he’s the way he is. But I can’t have you guys fighting over my birthday. It’s not fair to me, it’s not fair to Liam or Niall. You two have got to stop this.”

“He’s not even trying.” Harry closes his eyes, swaying slightly on his feet. It’s been a long week with finals coming up and working part time at the bakery and fighting with Zayn was not what he needed right now.

Louis sighs and squeezes Harry’s shoulders one more time before he pulls away and starts walking again, headed towards the flat that he shares with Niall, pulling out another cigarette as he goes. Harry stays where he is for a few more seconds before he turns to follow him.

They walk the rest of the way in silence, the cold December night silent around them. Louis heads straight for the stove and turns on the kettle as soon as they enter the flat, the only light coming from the tiny globe above the sink. Harry shrugs out of his jacket, shivering as he lays it over the back of one of the arm chairs in the living room.

“One of your jumpers is still in my room,” Louis calls to him from the kitchen, eyeing him closely from the stove, “Borrow some of my joggers. You kipping here tonight?”

“If you guys don’t mind.” Harry is already working on the buttons to his shirt as he heads for Louis’ room. He throws the shirt towards the hamper once he gets it off and goes for the dresser next. He digs through the drawer until he finds his blue NYU jumper and a pair of Louis’ joggers that won’t fit him. He pulls off his black skinny jeans always and slips into the sweatpants and pulls the jumper on before pulling his hair back into a bun.

He’s just coming out of the room when the front door opens and Niall walks in, followed by Liam and Zayn. He walks right past them as they all take off their coats off and heads for the kitchen instead, gratefully taking the steaming cup of tea that Louis is holding out to him. He can hear Zayn and Liam starting up the Playstation in the living room, bickering over which game to play. Niall makes his way into the kitchen a few seconds later, he leans against the counter and looks at Harry.

“So we were talking and we’ve agreed that you and I should handle the food and drinks for Louis’ party. Zayn and Liam are going to handle the music and everything else.” Niall is opening a cabinet as he talks, grabbing a bag of crisps, he leans against the counter again and watches carefully Harry as he opens it. “So tomorrow we are going to head to the store, you and I.”

“How’d you ever get him to agree to it?” Harry shakes his head, reaching his hand into the bag when Niall holds it out to him. 

“He was open to it. More open than you’ll give him credit for. All that matters now is that we get enough alcohol to get us all as shit faced as possible.” Niall smiles as he shoves a handful of crisps into his mouth before closing the bag and wiping his hands on his jeans “What time is your last class tomorrow?”

“At ten,” Harry takes a sip of his tea before he continues, “but I’ve got to revise tomorrow night. I have two finals on Thursday and two on Friday”

“So we’ll run by Tesco after your last class and then head back to yours? We can revise together.”

Harry hesitates, he knows how hard it can be to get Niall to remain focused, but he relents. They’ve known each other for years, and no one can get Niall to refocus better than Harry can.

~

The good thing about having the party at Zayn’s flat is that he only lives two floors above Harry and Nick, some weird twist of fate, albeit good or bad, that Louis had once used in an argument to convince Harry that Zayn was meant to be in their little group of friends. “How is is that he moved into the same complex a month after you and that he and Liam ended up being partners in the same music class?” He had proclaimed the first time they’d made their way up to the fifth floor.

Harry hadn’t agreed. The first time he’d met Zayn had been about a the week before at one of Niall’s parties. After receiving an uninterested once over from Zayn, he had pointed at Diamond Dogs t-shirt and tried to start up a conversation about which Bowie album was the best.

And that’s when Zayn had sighed loudly, rolled his eyes and turned his back to Harry, walking slowly off, leaving Harry mid-sentence on the perks of Young Americans. Niall, who had been standing a few feet away talking to some girl Harry didn’t know, had cackled loudly at the expression on Harry’s face and patted him on the shoulder with an, ‘Oh that Zayn Malik’.

Harry had, naturally, hated Zayn ever since. And it’s not that he hadn't tried to like him, because he had. With the thought that maybe Zayn was just having a bad night the first time he had met him, he tried to strike up a conversation the next time they met up, in Zayn’s flat, while Louis and Liam screamed at each other over their PS4 FIFA match. Harry had picked up the copy of Brave New World that was laying on Zayn’s coffee table “What’d you think?” He’d asked, reading over the back cover. “This your first time reading it?” He looked up when Zayn snorted from beside him, watched as Zayn took a lazy sip of beer, eyes still glued to the TV screen.

“What do you think?” Zayn asked finally, eyes still on the screen, “You seem like the type of love it.”

“What’s that mean?” Harry’s eyes narrowed, mouth pulling into a frown as he studied Zayn’s profile, “As a matter of fact, I do like it. What’s wrong with it?”

Zayn just shook his head before standing up and drinking the rest of his beer in three big pulls. “Anyone need a refill?” He asked, not waiting for an answer before he headed back to his kitchen to grab another case of beer out of the fridge.

But Harry wasn’t going to let that bother him tonight; finals were all done, he was celebrating his best friend’s birthday, and in two days he was headed home to a warm house and an amazing family and great food to celebrate his favorite holiday ever.

So he can ignore Zayn for the night--he doesn’t say anything about the way Zayn rolls his eyes when he opens the door and motions Harry towards the kitchen where the double sinks are already filled with water and ice and some of the beers that Niall had already brought by. Harry carefully sets the cases he is carrying down on the counter next to the sink and opens one, tossing a few cans into the ice. k “We’ve got two more cases and a few bags of food down at my place. I don't know where Niall is.”

“So are you going to bring the rest up or?” Zayn doesn’t look up from where he is clicking around on his laptop, which is set up on one of the kitchen counters across from where Harry is standing. A few seconds later Drake starts playing over the speakers Zayn has already set up around the apartment.

“It’ll take me like, three trips to get it all up here myself. Have you seen Niall?” 

Zayn motions towards the sink, “He dropped off a case of beer earlier and a few bottles of whatever you guys brought. Said he said had some errands to run and that he’d be back soon.”

Harry bites his bottom lip before turning and heading for the door, mentally preparing himself for numerous trips up and down two flights of stairs. He hears Zayn sigh loudly behind him and a mumbled, “Fine,” before he feels Zayn come up behind him. He looks over his shoulder and meets Zayn’s eyes. “Let’s go get this stuff,” Zayn says impatiently. “People’ll be arriving soon, let’s just get it done.”

“Gee, thanks,” Harry says dryly, opening the door and heading for the stairs. “It’s not my fault that Niall bailed on the set up, you know?”

“Didn’t say it was,” Zayn argues, pulling the door closed loudly behind them. 

“How many people did you invite?” Harry takes the steps two at a time, not waiting on Zayn.

“Enough,” Zayn calls down, taking his time on the steps. “It’ll be a good party.”

“Didn’t say it wouldn’t be,” Harry says as he reaches the first landing, turning to head down the next set of steps. “I’m just not sure how many people are still around with the holidays and all.”

“Not everyone celebrates Christmas,” Zayn reminds him, hand gripping the rail. He’s wearing a dark grey jumper that fits tightly across his chest, a pair of black skinny jeans and heavy black boots that cause his footsteps to echo off of the walls of the tiny stairwell.

“I’m well aware.” Harry glances over his shoulder, up at Zayn, “Not like I could forget with you around.” He turns back around just as he reaches the landing for his floor and doesn’t wait for Zayn as he opens the stairwell door and heads for his apartment door. “There are other holidays celebrated this time of year too, you know?” He leaves the door to his apartment open as he heads into the kitchen to grab two of the bags off of the floor and another case of beer. He watches Zayn lean down to grab the remaining bags before they both turn and head back towards the hallway. He lets Zayn walk out ahead of him before he turns to close and lock the door and they both head for the stairs.

“Well, it’s a bit annoying when people constantly pester you about the holidays,” Zayn says as they head up the first flight of stairs, his steps quicker this time

“Well, you don’t have to take it out on the rest of us,” Harry grumbles from behind him, but let’s the conversation drop off.  
~  
He wakes up to a hangover and Louis poking him in the stomach the next morning, memories of the night either fuzzy or non-existent, “Stop it” he mumbles, pushing Louis’ hand away and turning over the bury his head in his pillow. “Go ‘way,” he says when Louis lays down on top of him, his weight uncomfortably pressing Harry into the mattress

“Get up,” Louis whines, breathing obnoxiously into Harry’s ear. “Our cab is on it’s way, you have to tell me and Liam bye.” Harry sighs and rubs at his eye before moving, dumping Louis into the bed next to him.

“It’s too early,” he whines, moving so that he can cuddle into Louis’ side. “You can’t leave yet. It’ll be forever before I see you again”

“Don’t be dramatic,” Louis chides, wrapping an arm around Harry’s shoulder, pulling him close.r “We’re at Liam’s for the first week and a half and then we’re at mine, where I’ll be three blocks away from you.”

“Too long,” Harry sighs, his eyes drifting closed.

“Better than the year we were apart.” Louis reaches his hand up and scratches his fingers through Harry’s hair, referring to his first year of college, before Harry had joined him in the States. “Your mum’ll keep you too busy anyways.”

Harry hums, sighing as Louis shifts beside him, sliding out from under him and out of the bed completely. “Get up and give me a hug then,” Louis says, back popping as he stretches his hands over his head. Sighing, Harry sits up before he opens his eyes and holds his arms out. “A proper one, yeah?” Louis holds his arms out as wide as he can and it is all the incentive Harry needs to slide out of bed and close the few steps between them, wrapping his arms tightly around Louis’ and burying his face in Louis’ neck.

“I”ll miss you,” he mumbles, squeezing Louis tighter.

“Enough of that then.” Louis sighs after a few moments, patting Harry on the back and pulling away, “Two weeks tops.” Harry nods and follows Louis out of the room and into his living room, watching as Louis picks up his backpack and slips it on before reaching for the handle of his luggage.

“Alright then?” Liam asks, coming from the kitchen and walking up Harry to pull him into a tight hug. “We’ll see you in a few weeks?”

“Yeah.” Harry hugs him back before stepping out of the embrace and hugging himself, “You guys have a good flight. Li, let me know when you get in since he won’t.” He nods towards Louis, who scoffs and opens the front door.

“Will do. Zayn’s still here if you get too lonely.” Liam follows Louis out, casting a glance at Harry over his shoulder. “Two more days until you’re home, right?”

Harry nods and runs a hand up his bare arm, shivering slightly at the cold air coming in from the hallway, “I’ll be fine.” Liam gives him one final smile before walking out, only to be replace by Louis who leans back in the door. 

“Seriously Haz, he’s right up stairs if you need anything.”

“I’ll see you in two weeks,” Harry replies, forcing a small smile. “Love you guys” Louis watches him for a few more seconds, frowning before he nods and gives his own, ‘Love you too,’ and then he’s gone, pulling the door closed softly behind him.

~  
The problem with being a planner is that when things don’t go the way they are supposed to, you take it harder than you should.

Harry is a planner. And things are not going the way he had planned for them to. And there’s nothing he can do about it.

The thing is that there is no way that he could’ve planned for a snowstorm to suddenly drop eight inches of snow the day before he was supposed to fly out. Let alone another three inches the morning of his flight and that means all flights out of New York have been canceled. Not to mention, he can’t even find a taxi company willing to pick up right now.

He’s already called his mom, tried not to cry as he told her that they were expecting another round of snow tonight and they didn’t think any flights would get off of the ground until the 25th, at the earliest. Which meant he would be in New York for another two days. He was going to miss Christmas Eve with his family and probably Christmas dinner too. All because he couldn’t get off from the bakery any sooner and sneak on the last flight out of New York before they were all grounded.

“You should go up and hang out with Zayn. He’s not going home and at least you won’t be alone,” Louis says softly when Harry calls him next, Liam making agreeing noises from beside him. “Seriously Haz, just go up and talk to him.”

“Look, I’m fine.” Harry sighs and looks around his apartment, takes in the elaborately decorated tree that he and Nick had drunkenly decorated a few weeks before, the fairy lights that are haphazardly tacked up on the walls. He still has food that he had planned on cooking for Louis’ birthday dinner, the turkey thawing in a sink full of water now that he’s going to be here longer. “I’ve got food, Christmas movies”, he looks at the muted TV that is currently playing The Grinch, “I’ll be home in two days, in time for Boxing day. I’m fine”

“Harry,” Liam sounds exasperated, “Please. For us. Just go up and invite him down for dinner. We worry about you. About both of you. You’re both stressing us out right now and we’d all feel much better if you two could just put it all aside for one day and keep each other company.”

“He’s by himself, Harry,” Louis joins in, “He can’t cook like you can, he won’t even have a Christmas dinner.” 

“He doesn’t celebrate Christmas,” Harry mumbles as he runs a hand through his hair. “Or haven’t you heard?”

“Fine. Whatever.” Louis sighs loudly, “We’ve got to go to Liam’s Gram’s house now so you have fun watching movies by yourself. We’ll call you later.”

“I’m a big boy, you don’t have to check in on me,” Harry snaps, rubbing at his eyes angrily.

“Well you’re by yourself and if something happens no one will know, so we do have to check in on you, you arse,” Louis snaps. “Anyways we’re going, love you, bye.” And then the line goes dead.

Harry stares at the dark screen of his phone before sighing and walking back to the window to look outside. He was definitely not going to invite Zayn Malik to join him for dinner. Zayn was the one to make the decision to stay in the city during the holidays, Harry had not. Therefore, he wouldn’t feel bad for the man that was alone two floors above him.

And that’s probably why he is still trying to understand how he finds himself outside of Zayn’s door an hour later, having just knocked, a thermos of hot chocolate in one hand.

“You really let them get to you?” Zayn asks by way of greeting, leaning against the door jam, arms crossed over his chest. He’s in baggy sweatpants and a dark blue henley.

“Have they been talking to you too?” Harry asks, pushing past Zayn and into the apartment. He glances around, but not much has changed since the party, the room is cleaner but still lacks any sort of holiday decorations.

“He’s all by himself. You know Harry can’t survive by himself,” Zayn mocks Niall’s Irish accent, slamming the door shut and turning to face Harry. “Please come in, by the way”

“He’s going to be alone for three weeks, you don’t want him all alone for three weeks, do you?” Harry poorly mocks Liam’s accent and turns towards Zayn, holding the tumbler up, “Hot chocolate?”

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.” Zayn rolls his eyes and walks towards a closed bedroom door, pulling it openly slowly, he clicks his tongue. It takes a few seconds, but a moment later a tiny grey ball of fluff tumbles out.

“What’s wrong with hot choco--” Harry cuts himself off as he spots the kitten and drops to his knees, free hand already outstretched and snapping to get it’s attention. “Oh my god,” he breathes out, watching as the kitten bats at Zayn’s wiggling toes.

“You like cats?” Zayn glances down at him on the floor, and honest to god smile on his face as he bends down to pick up the fluff. “This is Marley. Picked her up from the shelter yesterday.” He buries his nose in kitten’s fur, laughing as she tries to wiggle out of his grasp.

“I love cats.” Harry stands up and sets the thermos on the coffee table before walking over to Zayn and reaching out to scratch at Marley’s tiny head, “Marley? Really?”

“It was already her name,” Zayn defends, frowning slightly. “But it’s a fucking awesome name, so I wasn’t going to change it.”

“She’s soft,” Harry says, grinning as she turns to bat at his finger.

“Wouldn’t peg you for a cat guy.” Zayn is still frowning, studying Harry’s face.

“I love cats,” Harry repeats. “My mom has two cats. I grew up with Dusty and she adopted a new kitten a few months ago. I’ve thought about getting one here but Nick doesn’t want one in the apartment. He wants a dog.”

“Nick’s dumb,” Zayn says evenly, bending to set the cat gently on the ground. “But dogs are cool.”

“They’re alright.” Harry agrees, watching as Marley runs into the kitchen, “Kind of surprised you’re a cat guy though, if I’m being honest.”

Zayn shrugs and crosses his arms over his chest, not looking at Harry. “I like ‘em.” 

Harry looks around, eyes pausing on the TV where Batman Returns is playing.“So, no hot chocolate then?” He asks after a few seconds of silence “It has Bailey’s.”

Zayn grins at that and lifts his eyes from the spot he’d been staring at, meeting Harry’s eyes he bites his lip before nodding.“Fine, Styles.” He relents, uncrossing his arms and heading for the kitchen. Harry smiles to himself backtracks to grab the thermos before following behind Zayn.

“What made you adopt Marley?” Harry asks, handing the thermos to Zayn and watching him fill two mugs with the hot liquid.

“Been thinking about getting a cat for a while.” Zayn replies, watching the liquid fill the mug, “Friend of mine volunteers at one of the shelters and I went to see her yesterday and saw that one,” he nods over his shoulder to where Marley is batting around a stuffed mouse ,“And it was right.”

“That’s cool.” Harry smiles, taking the mug from Zayn.He takes a tentative sip, testing the temperature before taking another bigger swallow.

“So what really brought you up to my flat, Harry Styles?” Zayn’s eyes are dark when Harry looks up to meet his gaze, eyebrows pulled together in a question. It’s not a look of unkindness, but one of genuine curiosity. “You can’t be that lonely already. I know you’re a social guy, but come on.”

“I was bored.” Harry frowns, looking down into his mug, swirling the liquid around. “Nick left yesterday and between him and the other lads, I usually have too much to do.”

“This’ll be your first Christmas without your family then?” He looks up to find Zayn studying him closely, eyes intense as they search Harry’s face.

“Yeah.” It comes out as almost a whisper and Harry bites down on his bottom lip. He doesn’t hide his emotions, never has. He wasn’t raised to be ashamed of what he is feeling, but he can feel the defensiveness creeping up as he waits for Zayn’s next words.

“You close to your family?” Zayn asks as he looks away from Harry and out the window above his sink. It looks out into the street below them. It’s started snowing again and the window is fogging up slightly.

“I am. Especially my mum and sister. I miss them terribly,” Harry admits, setting his mug down on the counter before resting his hip against the cabinet, arms crossed over his chest. “How about you?”

“I’m close to my sister.” Zayn says quietly, pulling his sleeves down over his hands, a nervous tick, Harry thinks. “She’s older. Used to be pretty close to my mum but we’ve drifted since I moved to New York.”

“You miss them?” Harry looks down as Marley bumps her head against his leg and he bends down to scratch behind her ears, smiling when she starts to purr and tries to climb into his lap. He looks up when Zayn doesn’t answer, notices his jaw clench and watches as he opens and closes his hands into fists under his sleeves. “Sorry,” Harry scoops Marley up into his arms and stands up, his hands dwarfing the tiny kitten, “I shouldn’t have asked that.”

“It’s cool.” Zayn turns and looks down at the cat before he reaches out and gently scratches her head, “Just not very close with my family, you know?” 

Harry nods, even though he doesn’t really know. He’s as close to his mum and sister as he could be, and got on well with his step dad. He doesn’t talk to his real father much, but they have never been particularly close anyway and it didn’t bother him as much as it probably should. 

“I was about to watch Avengers, if you wanna join.” Zayn changes the subject after a few beats of silence.

“Sure.” Harry shrugs, carefully shifting Marley where she has started to fall asleep against his chest and walks towards the couch, sitting down carefully and moving her to his lap. He smiles up at Zayn in thanks as he sets his mug on the end table closest to Harry before he moves to the arm chair next to the couch.

“She likes you,” Zayn comments as he pulls his digital movie list up and looks for the movie.

“Animals are good judges of character,” Harry jokes, reaching down to scratch under her chin. He smiles as she stretches, eyes still closed, toes spread and starts to purr again.

“Sure.” Zayn smirks, glancing over briefly before turning back to where the movie is starting. 

They stay mostly silent throughout it, only making the occasional comment. At some point, towards the end Harry falls asleep, slumping slightly over the arm of the couch. He is awakened by a loud bang in the kitchen, startling awake and sitting up straight before rubbing at his eyes sleepily.

“Sorry,” Zayn calls from the other side of the counter, straightening up from where he had bent down to pick a pan off the floor, “I was trying to be quiet”

“ ’s fine,” Harry mumbles, frowning at him slightly. “Need help?”

“Nah, just heating up soup real quick.” He turns his back to Harry, the sound of the can opener loud in the quiet apartment followed by the sound of Zayn turning on the tap. “You slept for like, two hours.”

“Sorry.” Harry stands, stretching his hands above his head, back cracking loudly.

“No worries.” Zayn says as he heads for the stove, gently setting the pan down on the burner, looking up as Harry walks into the kitchen, “Missed the end of the movie”

“Louis is my best mate. He’s dating Liam. I have the entire movie memorized.” Harry shakes his head, walking to look over Zayn’s shoulder at the soup before heading towards the window to look out. It’s dark out now but he can still see that snow is still falling, piling up higher and higher, the street lamps doing little to provide light in the dense fog of the storm. Behind him, Zayn chuckles in understanding.

“How long’ve you know Louis again?” Harry walks back over to the stove, leaning against the counter and watching as Zayn stirs the soup.

“Since I was eight. He was ten. He moved in a few blocks away and would ride his bike past my house everyday. One day he finally stopped, to flirt with Gem, I think,” he smirks at the memory before he continues, “and we ended up playing Xbox together. Been inseparable ever since”

“Except for last year,” Zayn points out, looking up at Harry.

“Except for last year,” Harry confirms, shifting slightly. “I was two years behind him. He had taken a gap year but needed to get start classes or he’d lose his scholarship.” Harry doesn’t look up at Zayn, just lifts his shoulder slightly. “It really sucked not having him around. I’ve never had issues making friends but he’s different. He’s always the one to get me out of my funks, or whatever.” He frowns and shakes his head, “I just get weird sometimes. He puts up with my rambling and my absentmindedness. And I put up with his bitchiness.” He grins when he looks up at Zayn.

“Not always an easy task,” Zayn mutters as he reaches over to cut the burner off. “Bowls are up there.” He motions to the cabinet behind Harry’s head and reaches into a drawer and pulls out two spoons. “He talked about you all of the time last year. He missed you. Was so excited when you decided to come to NYU.”

“I’m close to my mum and my sister, like I said, but my dad left the year before Louis came. I always got on better with girls, didn’t have too many boy friends, got teased a lot about it. He was a drama kid.” Harry’s smile is slightly self-deprecating and he pauses to watch Zayn ladle out the soup into the bowls, “but he was tough, you know? I’m too emotional. Let things get to me too much. But he was so tough and even then he wouldn’t take shit off of anyone. Wouldn’t let them mess with me.”

He takes the bowl Zayn hands him and walks back into the living room, setting the bowl down on the coffee table. He sits down in front of the table, legs tucked under him.

“We had Intro to Poli Sci together last year.” Zayn rolls his eyes as he sits back down in the same chair that he’d been in earlier before picking up the remote and flicking through the list of movies in his Netflix que, settling on Scarface. “Some kid made some comment to me during a discussion about Pakistan. Lou legit got in his face over it. Surprised the hell out of me. Didn’t need him to defend me, I can take care of myself. But it was like, the second week of class so it was nice to know someone would stand up to shitty behavior, you know?” His eyes are glued to the screen as he lifts the spoon to his mouth.

“That happen a lot?” Harry asks, turning to look at him.

“What?” Zayn spares him only a few seconds of a glance before he’s back to watching the movie.

“People picking on you because you’re Muslim?” He is watching Zayn’s face closely, his own soup forgotten in front of him.

“Nah,” Zayn’s expression doesn’t change as he shakes his head “Occasionally. Can’t let it get to me.”

“It’s gotta be hard though.” Harry finally turns back around, stirring his soup before finally taking a bite.

“It’s life.” Zayn comments, voice lacking any emotion, “I’m not going to change who I am to please them, they’re not going to take the time to learn to not to be bigoted arseholes. I have good friends. I have a good support system. It took a while to get there, but here I am. I have no doubt Louis and Liam would do whatever needs to be done if I needed help. And me for them.”

“Niall too.” Harry looks at him out of the corner of his eye, spoon halfway to his mouth, “People underestimate how fiercely loyal Ni is. I wouldn’t ever want to get him angry.” Zayn chuckles at that, lips pulling up into a full smile.

“Ni would kick all of our arses. People do underestimate him.”

“We have good friends,” Harry says softly, turning to look full on at Zayn. Zayn looks down at him, meets his eyes and nods.

“We do.” He agrees, “The best.” They fall silent after that, both turning to watch the rest of the movie. Afterwards, Harry dries the dishes as Zayn washes them and then leans against the counter to watch Zayn put them away.

“So, hey.” Harry starts, pausing when Zayn looks over his shoulder to meet his gaze, “Thanks for letting me hang here tonight. It was fun.” Zayn hums in agreement and turns back to putting the dishes away. “And I wanted to invite you down to mine tomorrow. I had bought a bunch of food for us all to have a dinner before heading home and none of us had the time so I’m going to be cooking tomorrow and I’ll probably have way too much food.” He pauses and bites his bottom lip nervously before he continues, “I’m a pretty decent cook. And it would be nice not to spend Christmas Eve alone. Even though I know you don’t celebrate it. We wouldn’t have to do anything for it, just have a nice dinner and watch movies again.” He stops and takes a deep breath in, “If you don’t say something I’m going to keep rambling and Louis isn’t here to shut me up.”

“Harry.” Zayn dries his hands on a tea towel before carefully setting it on the counter in front of him and turning to face Harry.

“You can bring Marley.” He motions to where the kitten is chasing a ball around the living room, “Or I can bring the stuff up here? Though it would suck to have to carry it all up. It’s just like,” he gestures between them, “a small roast. and I’ll be making potatoes and fresh corn. Green beans and the works. Just. It’d be nice, wouldn’t it?” His eyes are wide as he waits for Zayn to respond, his bottom lip pulled between his teeth.

Zayn sighs loudly and looks away, out the window, “Fine.” He finally agrees softly with a shake of his head, like he can’t believe he is accepting. “What time should I come down?”

“Whenever.” Harry lets his lips form a small smile, “Food’ll probably be ready around one, so anytime after then?”

Zayn nods and looks back at him, brown eyes dark. “I’ll walk you out.” He stands up straight and heads for the front door, Harry just a few steps behind him.

“Thanks again, for tonight.” Harry pushes a loose curl behind his ear as he steps out into the hallway, shivering slightly at how cold it is, he crosses his arms in front of his chest, “For letting me crash your night.”

“It was good.” Zayn also shivers, one hand gripping the door and the other buried in the pocket of his sweatpants

“Nice to have an actual conversation with you.” Harry grins when Zayn rolls his eyes and turns to walk towards the stairwell. “See you tomorrow,” Harry calls over his shoulder, shaking his head when he hears the soft click of the door closing behind him.

~  
He doesn’t expect Zayn to actually show up, is the thing. He still cooks, wakes up early and puts the roast in, spends the morning baking cookies and making gravies and potatoes, preparing pie crusts and drinking hot chocolate while a record of Christmas music plays softly from the corner of the living room, the muted TV playing “It’s a Wonderful Life”. He pauses occasionally to watch before he turns back to cooking.

That’s why the loud knock at noon startles him. He is working on the pumpkin pie at the time and it literally causes him to jump. He spends a few seconds staring at the door before the knock comes again. He picks up a tea towel to wipe his hands on and goes to open it. 

“Oh,” he says when he finds Zayn on the other side, cat carrier in one hand and a bottle of wine in the other.

“I know I’m early,” Zayn starts, shifting uncomfortably, “But I thought you may need some help. So.” He’s wearing a fluffy white jumper and black skinnies that fit him just tight enough.

“Come in.” Harry steps aside. He has a black jumper that may have been Liam’s, judging by how tightly it fit him, and a loose pair of blue jeans, his feet bare against the slightly cold wooden floors of his apartment. He reaches for the wine and watches as Zayn toes off his shoes before setting the carrier down and kneeling down to unzip it so that Marley can run out.

“Is there anything she can get into?” He asks right before he lets her out, eyes sweeping the floor. Harry moves quickly to shut his door and then across the living room to shut Nick’s door before he shakes his head.

“Should be fine,” he says before making his way back into the kitchen to check on the food and put the wine on ice.

“Haven’t had a Christmas dinner in a while, wasn’t sure what would go with it.” Harry turns to look at Zayn as he walks in after him. He looks timid, his hands buried in the pockets of his jeans. He nods towards the bottle Harry had just set down.

“This works perfectly,” Harry grabs the bottle and glances back down at the label before looking back up at Zayn, “Thank you for brining it”

“What would you have done if I hadn’t come? You’re going all out.” He is looking around the kitchen at all of the food.

Harry looks sheepish as he glances around too, eyes following the same path as Zayn’s. “There’s actually a soup kitchen a few blocks away from here. At St. John’s Catholic?” He looks at Zayn, but Zayn shakes his head, “Anyways, it’s like, two blocks from here. Figured I’d take the leftovers by real quick tomorrow. They are serving dinner and could use it.” He shrugs and turns back to the stove, stirring the potatoes.

“That’s really nice of you,” Zayn says softly.

“Least I could do.” Harry doesn’t look up, “I’m lucky to not want for anything, you know?”

“I think that you’re lucky to realize that you don’t want for anything,” Zayn comments, moving so that he is closer to the stove. “Can I help with anything?”

“It’s all almost done.” Harry shakes his head, “Did you want some tea? Or hot chocolate? Or the wine glasses are behind you.” He nods towards where the glasses hang from above the sink.

“You guys do it up right proper in here,” Zayn says taking in the wine rack set up on the counter and the different shapes and sizes of glasses hanging from the glass holder. “Damn”

“Nick.” Harry shakes his head and turns the burner off before pulling the wine bottle out of the ice bucket and handing the barely chilled bottle to Zayn, “He’s serious about his wine”

“And you?” Zayn grabs the cork screw and sets to work getting the wine open.

“Eh. I’m appreciating it more now that I live with him. Still enjoy drinking just to drink too much to care beyond that,” he says honestly, reaching down to pick Marley up as she trots into the kitchen. He coos at her and kisses the top of her head before setting her back down and turning to pull the oven door open, checking on the roast and sliding the pumpkin pie in.

Zayn chuckles and sets the corkscrew and cork aside before filling the two glasses he had grabbed. “I hated it up until last semester. Louis and Liam used to host these stupid dinner parties with the crappiest wine last year.” He pauses as he swirls the dark red liquid gently around in the glass before taking a sip and letting out an appreciative sigh, “My sister sent me a few really nice bottles for my birthday last year. Started enjoying it more after that.”

Harry looks up at him as he takes his own glass and takes a sip, “Your older sister? You said you all were close?” He asks after he swallows, setting the glass down gently and turning to pull the serving dishes out of the cabinet above the sink.

“Yeah. Doniya.” Zayn sets his glass down and takes a bowl from Harry and carries it over to the stove, spooning the potatoes carefully into it. “Talked to her earlier. She’s mad I didn’t go home,” he admits softly.

Harry opens his mouth, starts to say something, but closes it again, instead takes the bowl from Zayn and hands him another one, watches as he carefully spoons the green beans into that one.

“So I grew up Muslim, right?” Zayn offers after a few seconds, looking at Harry with one eyebrow raised, “You knew that?”

“Yeah.” Harry nods, taking the bowl as Zayn hands it to him and hands him the gravy boat.

“Not the most accepting religion when it comes to being gay.” Zayn carefully pours the gravy into the boat, his motions sure and steady. “I hid it, I ignored it and then I gave up on repressing it. Hoped that parental love would be enough accept me for who I was.” He looks up at Harry, meets his eyes as he hands him the gravy bowl. Neither of them look down as he takes the plate from Harry, “It wasn’t”

“Oh.” Harry actually looks startled, his green eyes big as he watches Zayn take the roast out of the oven.

“This done?” Zayn asks, and, without waiting for an answer, he sets the roasting pan on a hot pad and starts forking the meat onto the plate.

“I’m sorry,” Harry says finally, eyes watching Zayn’s motions.

“It is what it is,” Zayn shrugs. “They didn’t beat me, they didn’t even kick me out. But they let me know that they thought it was wrong. And once I did move out, they let me know that I wasn’t welcome back until until I was better.” He spits the last word without looking at Harry as he turns to carry the plate to the small kitchen table. Harry follows him with the bowl of green beans and the gravy boat. “Haven’t really talked to them since, aside from Doniya. Started building my own family instead.” He stalks quickly back into the kitchen and grabs the bowl of potatoes before walking back towards the table, finally looking at Harry.

“Good.” Harry nods, looking Zayn in the eye, “You have a lot of people who care about you.”

“I know I do.” Zayn sets the bowl down on the table. “I surround myself with good people. And I care about them just as much. I know it doesn’t always seem like I do, I know you don’t think I do.” He looks up at Harry and their eyes meet again, “But I do. I would literally do anything for them.”

“I didn’t know.” Harry tugs at the hem of his jumper self-consciously, “You never gave me a chance Zayn. Louis kept rambling about how great you were, and Liam. I get here and you won’t talk to me, and when you do, you were talking down to me. Like I was the annoying kid brother.” He shakes his head and looks away, “It was hard enough to come in when Lou and I had been apart for year. We had both changed a bit, and then this person that he looked up to and talked about so much treated me like an intruder.” He’s staring at the floor, expression blank as his hands drop to his side. “It was hard enough leaving my family and my home to come here, and I’m used to Lou’s snark, but you were a right arse.”

“Babe, I think that you don’t realize how wrapped around your finger everyone is.” Zayn starts softly, holding up a finger when Harry starts to protest, “I’m not saying it’s a bad thing, but I didn’t understand it at first. Those three lads would literally drop anything at anytime to do whatever you needed them to do, and I don’t think you realize it.”

“So you were jealous or?” Harry still looks confused, a small frown on his face.

“No. You seemed entitled to me. I thought you were a twat.” Zayn shrugs unapologetically, “I’m starting to see now that I was probably wrong. That you’re not actually taking advantage and you give as much as you get from them.”

“I love them all.” Harry cuts in, “I would literally do anything for them. Anything.”

“I don’t doubt that.” Zayn sighs and rubs at his eyes, “I was wrong, and I apologize. It’s been nice getting to know you better.”

Harry nods and walks back into the kitchen. He grabs a bowl that has steamed cabbage in it and his glass of wine before heading back to dining room table and setting them down. He grabs plates and silverware from the kitchen for them to use. 

Zayn is pulling a can of cat food and a tiny plastic bowl out of a pouch on the side of the carrier. He makes his way to the kitchen and pulls the top off of the can. Harry laughs as Marley jumps up and runs into he kitchen, tiny high pitched meows filling the room as she rubs up against Zayn’s legs. Zayn clicks his tongue at her as he grabs a spoon out of the drawer Harry and been in a moment before and scoops the food out of the can an into the bowl before setting it down in front of the kitten, gently placing the spoon in the sink, turning to join Harry at the table.

They keep a steady flow of conversation during dinner, Harry sharing stories about some of the crazy Christmases his family has celebrated in the past. Zayn explains that his family didn’t really celebrate the holiday but usually exchanged gifts. Afterwards they carefully pack the leftovers in the plastic throwaway containers Harry had bought and put it all in the fridge.

“Wanna watch a movie?” Harry asks, carrying a fresh glass of wine to the living room. He walks to the record player and gently lifts the needle, placing it in it’s holder before making his way to the sofa and plopping down, laughing softly as Marley attempts to jump up.

“You’re going to hurt her feelings,” Zayn comments as he comes in, bending down to scoop her up before sitting down on the couch and placing her between them. “What are we watching?” He scratches her head before looking up at Harry.

“Are you totally opposed to Christmas movies?” Harry asks, flipping through the channels “Because Home Alone is about to come on, and it’s something Gems and I watch every year on Christmas”

“It’s fine. I told you I’m not totally opposed to Christmas anything. Just don’t celebrate it.” Zayn sips at his wine, eyes on the TV, “It’s a good movie.”

“It is.” Harry finally finds the channel and turns up the volume, setting the remote on the arm of the couch.

“It’s finally stopped snowing.” Harry jumps at Zayn’s voice and looks over at him. Zayn is staring out the large window that faces the same street that his kitchen window faces “What time’s your flight tomorrow?”

“Three.” Harry follows his gaze, takes in the snow covered world outside, “Still on time as of now. As long as it doesn’t snow more. Figured I’d run the food by the kitchen tomorrow morning and then head to the airport.”

“I can help you with the food, if you’d like. It’d be nice to get out of the building,” Zayn looks back at Harry and offers him a half smile, “plus you couldn’t carry all of that by yourself. You’d probably trip and lose half of it.”

“Hey!” Harry’s whines, frowning. Zayn laughs loudly, the sound echoing off of the walls.

“Your face right now mate.” He cackles, leaning to set his glass on a coaster on the coffee table, “Oh my god.”

“I’m not that clumsy!” Harry’s fighting off a smile.

“You really are, babe.” Zayn shakes his head and reaches back down to scratch Marley’s back, “That Styles charm.”

“Hey!” Harry cries again as he reaches out to lightly thump Zayn’s arm, “I’m very charming.”

“You really are.” Zayn looks up at Harry from under his eyelashes and this is definitely Zayn flirting, Harry thinks. So he ducks his head, smiles so he knows his dimples show and pushes his hair behind his ear. “You are kind of a shit, you know that?” Zayn asks, but it’s playful, so Harry lifts his head slightly, meets Zayn’s gaze. Zayn’s eyes go darker and he reaches forward to run a hand down Harry’s cheek before he pushes a stray lock of hair back, tucking it behind Harry’s ear.

Everything feels like slow motion after that, when Zayn takes the glass out of Harry’s hand and sets in gently on the table. It feels like an eternity before Zayn returns his gaze to Harry’s face, his eyes following the motion of Harry’s tongue when it flicks out to lick his lips, a few seconds longer until Zayn leans slowly forward, pausing with his face inches away from Harry’s, his eyes slipping slowly closed. Harry huffs impatiently before he closes the gap, pressing his lips gently to Zayn’s, hand reaching up to gently cup his face.

Zayn pulls back slowly, only for a second before he is leaning forward again, kissing Harry more urgently, tongue darting out to lick Harry’s mouth open before he shifts so that his body is closer to Harry’s.

“We should slow down,” Harry says a while later, both of them pulling back, lips puffy and red. “We should take this slow.” Zayn sighs and pulls back further, runs a hand through his hair and looks away.

“I should probably go.” Zaynsays finally, standing up.

“Or. Stay,” Harry stands up too and he reaches out to grab Zayn’s hand. “We can still take it slow. But it’s late, and we have to get up early to take the food. Marley’s out.” He nods to back of the sofa, where the tiny cat is now curled up and fast asleep, “I’ll loan you some pajamas. But stay?”

“Sure.” Zayn is staring at Harry “But…”

“We will not have sex tonight.” Harry says firmly, “We need to take this slow. We share mates, and we need to do this right so it doesn’t go wrong and piss them all off.” Zayn huffs out a laugh and reaches down to adjust himself before he nods in agreement. “I’ll get you some bottoms. you need a tshirt?”

“I’m not sleeping in Nick’s room,” Zayn says suddenly.

“You can stay in my room.” Harry rolls his eyes and heads for his bedroom, “We’re adults. We can sleep in the same bed without jumping each other.”

Zayn looks skeptical as he scoops Marley up and cuddles her to his chest as he turns out the living room light and heads for the bedroom. He sets her gently down on the bed before taking the clothes that Harry is holding out for him and heads for the bathroom, quickly changing and using his finger to brush his teeth with Harry’s toothpaste and heading back into the bedroom. Harry’s already down to his briefs and he grins brightly at Zayn before heading into the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

He comes out a few minutes later, coming up behind Zayn to rest his chin on Zayn’s shoulder as Zayn takes in the numerous photos on Harry’s wall. “How did I not know you were into photography?” He asks finally.

Harry shrugs and pulls away, dropping down on the bed and reaching out to pet Marley. “It’s my major,” he says, looking up at Zayn, “but I try not to pull my camera out to much around the lads. Don’t want to be that friend.”

“You’re good,” Zayn says softly as he makes his way to the bed and lays down next to Harry.

“Thanks.” Harry offers him a bright smile before he leans forward and kisses Zayn gently, tasting minty. They snog for a while before Harry’s eyes start to drift closed.

“Am I boring you?” Zayn jokes, shifting so he bury his face in Harry’s neck.

“Got up early, “ Harry yawns, stretching his arms above his head, “Got a long day tomorrow.”

“Eight hour flight, right?” Zayn runs his hand down Harry’s stomach, grinning as it the muscles jump at his touch.

“Mmmhmm,” Harry turns his head slightly, shifts so he can press his lips into Zayn’s. “You’ve got to stop.”

“Gonna take you out proper when you get back.” Zayn pulls his hand back and tucks it between his knees “Nice dinner and the works, take you back to my place afterwards. That sound good?”

“It does.” Harry smiles, eyes closed and face starting to relax. He reaches down and tangles their fingers together just seconds before he is fast asleep. Zayn smiles, brushes a kiss against Harry’s bare shoulder before his own eyes drift closed.

Outside the snow has started again to fall again, a slow stream while Bing Crosby croons softly from Harry’s iPod.

**Author's Note:**

> I can't thank my beta enough, she is amazing and I appreciate all of her help!
> 
> Zarry 3, I loved this prompt and hope you enjoy this!


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